Ileus stared in Anastasia's sapphire eyes and said, "It will take another week for us to get out of this realm. You can thank me then."
Anastasia was so grateful to this man. Her lips curved in an innocent smile. This man had been so loyal to her. Maybe she should ask him to stay with her. Loyalty was something she had always valued and something, which she craved because there was none in the world she was in. Only Nyles.
"Where does this road end? Which town?" she asked. Once she was out of the forests under Vilinski, she would leave… disappear.
"Quaint little towns dot the periphery of these forests. The nearest one is óraid."
"Oh!" She bit her lip. She would be leaving him after that. She would simply slip away with Nyles. Moreover she wondered as to why would Ileus want to stay with her? She had burdened him so much already. In fact he would want to do away with her.
She changed the topic, "I heard that you joined the ranks of the kingdom as a soldier a year back, but Maple picked you out from there. She said you were one of the most brilliant soldiers she had ever seen!"
Ileus nodded. His black hair tumbled on his forehead and she had a strong urge to swipe them back. She clutched her sweater on the sides.
"Maple was a keen observer," he said dryly.
That statement didn't sit well with Anastasia but she let it pass. She was anyways no fan of Maple. She waved her hand around. "So these men were waiting for you for two months?" At only five and a half feet tall, she had to crane her neck to look at him and ask her questions.
"Hmm…" he nodded again, appearing uncomfortable and immediately growing distant.
She wanted to tell him where she wanted to go, but on second thoughts she became quiet. She would never tell anyone about her final destination—a farming village near The Tides of Bromval.
An awkward silence spanned between them and then he walked over to the horses . The way he walked, he looked like a panther with a predatory grace as if he owned these lands. Disguised as Kaizan, she had seen him training with lethal grace and he surpassed her expectations. She was a trained warrior and when she looked at one, she knew the level of skill. And he dominated every other guard in the grounds of the Kralj Palace. She had caught Maple's gaze on him so many times and the way her cousin leered at him made her feel sick. It worried her the way she looked at him. The difference was that she never talked to him without purpose whereas Maple found every opportunity to go to him and flirt ostentatiously, as if he was her pet. As Kaizan, he was so attractive, as Ileus he was nothing short of being lethally attractive. She noticed Kaizan approaching him. They talked in hushed tones while he rubbed the horse's neck.
As the fire kindled and food was being prepared, she watched how the other men stayed extremely alert. It was as if they were all guarding her. The woman, Darla, looked stiff and distant. After throwing Anastasia a cold glare, Darla went to stand right next to Ileus. She placed her hand on his back and rubbed his back affectionately joining the conversation he was having with Kaizan. Anastasia watched them for a moment and found Ileus's demeanor relaxing after their banter. She had to ask him how he remained disguised as Kaizan for almost a year. It was incredible, even unheard of.
"They are saying that I will be riding with that stupid woman again! My thighs are numb. I want to be with you, m'lady. Please tell them that. We need to be together to escape from them!" she said in hushed tones.
A man handed them each a bowl of stew. Disgusted with the food, Nyles rolled her eyes. "Oh my Fae! What the hell is this? Have we been reduced to critters! Are we rodents? What have you served us?" She yelled at him.
The soldier only grunted and left her.
Anastasia shook her head and chuckled. Nyles was such a spoiled brat. As she took a spoonful of hot stew, her gaze traveled back to Ileus. The man was so arrogant and distant ever since she had seen him. Now as he spoke with Kaizan, he looked so serious and tense.
"I don't know why I am not able to use my wings," Nyles lament disturbed her thoughts again. "It's like my wings have disappeared!"
Anastasia frowned. "How can that be possible Nyles? The last I remember you pounced on Kai— I mean Ileus when we left the bend." Her own wings were shackled by powerful magic. She had long left pitying herself. Aed Ruad had taken her to the Elders and got her wings shackled after she had barely recovered from the incident that took place eight years back… when he had sliced her baby wings. He had slashed the fragile bone in her left wing, which took so long to heal… and now had a permanent dent.
But she loved watching people in her kingdom, as they fluttered their beautiful wings.
"I don't know, m'lady." She took two heaps of meat, chewed it fast and gulped it down hungrily. "I just can't feel them. It is strange."
"It is indeed pretty bizarre!"
Suddenly, Anastasia saw that the mist was slowly clearing around her. And for the first time she looked at the forest beyond. Her mouth stopped mid-bite, and she gasped. Except for an occasional chitter of a squirrel she saw that the forest was silent.